The dissertation template for Level 4 project dissertations in the School of Computing Science, University of Glasgow.
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% REMEMBER: You must not plagiarise anything in your report. Be extremely careful.
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%% METADATA
\title{Level 4 Project Report Template} % change this to your title
\author{John H. Williamson}
\date{September 14, 2018}
\maketitle
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%% ABSTRACT
\begin{abstract}
Every abstract follows a similar pattern. Motivate; set aims; describe work; explain results.
\vskip 0.5em
``XYZ is bad. This project investigated ABC to determine if it was better.
ABC used XXX and YYY to implement ZZZ. This is particularly interesting as XXX and YYY have
never been used together. It was found that
ABC was 20\% better than XYZ, though it caused rabies in half of subjects.''
\end{abstract}
%==============================================================================
%% ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
\chapter*{Acknowledgements}
% Enter any acknowledgements here. This is optional; you may leave this blank if you wish,
% or remove the entire chapter
%
% We give thanks to the Gods of LaTeX, who in their eternal graciousness,
% have granted that this document may compile without errors or overfull hboxes.
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%==============================================================================
% EDUCATION REUSE CONSENT FORM
% If you consent to your project being shown to future students for educational purposes
% then insert your name and the date below to sign the education use form that appears in the front of the document.
% You must explicitly give consent if you wish to do so.
% If you sign, your project may be included in the Hall of Fame if it scores particularly highly.
%
% Please note that you are under no obligation to sign
% this declaration, but doing so would help future students.
%
%\def\consentname {My Name} % your full name
%\def\consentdate {20 March 2018} % the date you agree
%
\educationalconsent
%==============================================================================
\tableofcontents
%==============================================================================
%% Notes on formatting
%==============================================================================
% The first page, abstract and table of contents are numbered using Roman numerals and are not
% included in the page count.
%
% From now on pages are numbered
% using Arabic numerals. Therefore, immediately after the first call to \chapter we need the call
% \pagenumbering{arabic} and this should be called once only in the document.
%
%
% The first Chapter should then be on page 1.
% PAGE LIMITS
% You are allowed 40 pages for a 40 credit project and 30 pages for a
% 20 credit report.
% This includes everything numbered in Arabic numerals (excluding front matter) up
% to but *excluding the appendices and bibliography*.
%
% FORMATTING
% You must not alter text size (it is currently 10pt) or alter margins or spacing.
% Do not alter the bibliography style.
%
%==================================================================================================================================
%
% IMPORTANT
% The chapter headings and structure here are **suggestions**. You don't have to follow this model if
% it doesn't fit your project. Every project should have an introduction and conclusion,
% however. If in doubt, your supervisor can give you specific guidance; their view takes precedence over
% the structure suggested here.
%
%==================================================================================================================================
\chapter{Introduction}
% reset page numbering. Don't remove this!
\pagenumbering{arabic}
% You can use \todo{} to mark text that needs to be fixed. Anything inside will appear as highlighted
% text in the final copy, and you will also get warnings when you compile (so you don't
% forget to take them out!)
\todo{Remove the guidance notes from your dissertation before submitting!}
Why should the reader care about what are you doing and what are you actually doing?
\section{Guidance}
\textbf{Motivate} first, then state the general problem clearly.
\section{Writing guidance}
\subsection{Who is the reader?}
This is the key question for any writing. Your reader:
\begin{itemize}
\item
is a trained computer scientist: \emph{don't explain basics}.
\item
has limited time: \emph{keep on topic}.
\item
has no idea why anyone would want to do this: \emph{motivate clearly}
\item
might not know \emph{anything} about your project in particular:
\emph{explain your project}.
\item
but might know precise details and check them: \emph{be precise and
strive for accuracy.}
\item
doesn't know or care about you: \emph{personal discussions are
irrelevant}.
\end{itemize}
Remember, you will be marked by your supervisor and one or more members
of staff. You might also have your project read by a prize-awarding
committee or possibly a future employer. Bear that in mind.
\subsection{References and style guides}
There are many style guides on good English writing. You don't need to
read these, but they will improve how you write.
\begin{itemize}
\item
\emph{How to write a great research paper} \cite{Pey17} (\textbf{recommended}, even though you aren't writing a research paper)
\item
\emph{How to Write with Style} \cite{Von80}. Short and easy to read. Available online.
\item
\emph{Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace} \cite{Wil09} A very popular modern English style guide.
\item
\emph{Politics and the English Language} \cite{Orw68} A famous essay on effective, clear writing in English.
\item
\emph{The Elements of Style} \cite{StrWhi07} Outdated, and American, but a classic.
\item
\emph{The Sense of Style} \cite{Pin15} Excellent, though quite in-depth.
\end{itemize}
\subsubsection{Citation styles}
\begin{itemize}
\item If you are referring to a reference as a noun, then cite it as: ``\citet{Orw68} discusses the role of language in political thought.''
\item If you are referring implicitly to references, use: ``There are many good books on writing \citep{Orw68, Wil09, Pin15}.''
\end{itemize}
There is a complete guide on good citation practice by Peter Coxhead available here: \url{http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~pxc/refs/index.html}.
If you are unsure about how to cite online sources, please see \citet{UNSWWebsite}.
\footnote{Specifying an online resource like \url{https://developer.android.com/studio}
in a footnote sometimes makes more sense than including it as a formal reference.}
\subsection{Plagiarism warning}
\begin{highlight_title}{WARNING}
If you include material from other sources without full and correct attribution, you are commiting plagiarism. The penalties for plagiarism are severe.
Quote any included text and cite it correctly. Cite all images, figures, etc. clearly in the caption of the figure.
\end{highlight_title}
\subsection{Quoting text}
If you are quoting a long passage, use a \texttt{quote} environment:
\begin{quote}
If you scribble your thoughts any which way, your readers will surely feel that you care nothing about them. They will mark you down as an egomaniac or a chowderhead -or, worse, they will stop reading you. The most damning revelation you can make about yourself is that you do not know what is interesting and what is not.
\end{quote} \citep{Von80}
If you are quoting inline, like Simon Peyton-Jones' following remark, use quotation marks ``Conveying the intuition is primary, not
secondary'' \citep{Pey17}.
%==================================================================================================================================
\chapter{Background}
What did other people do, and how is it relevant to what you want to do?
\section{Guidance}
\begin{itemize}
\item
Don't give a laundry list of references.
\item
Tie everything you say to your problem.
\item
Present an argument.
\item Think critically; weigh up the contribution of the background and put it in context.
\item
\textbf{Don't write a tutorial}; provide background and cite
references for further information.
\end{itemize}
%==================================================================================================================================
\chapter{Analysis/Requirements}
What is the problem that you want to solve, and how did you arrive at it?
\section{Guidance}
Make it clear how you derived the constrained form of your problem via a clear and logical process.
The analysis chapter explains the process by which you arrive at a concrete design. In software
engineering projects, this will include a statement of the requirement capture process and the
derived requirements.
In research projects, it will involve developing a design drawing on
the work established in the background, and stating how the space of possible projects was
sensibly narrowed down to what you have done.
%==================================================================================================================================
\chapter{Design}
How is this problem to be approached, without reference to specific implementation details?
\section{Guidance}
Design should cover the abstract design in such a way that someone else might be able to do what you did,
but with a different language or library or tool. This might include overall system architecture diagrams,
user interface designs (wireframes/personas/etc.), protocol specifications, algorithms, data set design choices,
among others. Specific languages, technical choices, libraries and such like should not usually appear in the design. These are implementation details.
%==================================================================================================================================
\chapter{Implementation}
What did you do to implement this idea, and what technical achievements did you make?
\section{Guidance}
You can't talk about everything. Cover the high level first, then cover important, relevant or impressive details.
\section{General guidance for technical writing}
These points apply to the whole dissertation, not just this chapter.
\subsection{Figures}
\emph{Always} refer to figures included, like Figure \ref{fig:relu}, in the body of the text. Include full, explanatory captions and make sure the figures look good on the page.
You may include multiple figures in one float, as in Figure \ref{fig:synthetic}, using \texttt{subcaption}, which is enabled in the template.
% Figures are important. Use them well.
\begin{figure}[htb]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{images/relu.pdf}
\caption{In figure captions, explain what the reader is looking at: ``A schematic of the rectifying linear unit, where $a$ is the output amplitude,
$d$ is a configurable dead-zone, and $Z_j$ is the input signal'', as well as why the reader is looking at this:
``It is notable that there is no activation \emph{at all} below 0, which explains our initial results.''
\textbf{Use vector image formats (.pdf) where possible}. Size figures appropriately, and do not make them over-large or too small to read.
}
% use the notation fig:name to cross reference a figure
\label{fig:relu}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[htb]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.45\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{images/synthetic.png}
\caption{Synthetic image, black on white.}
\label{fig:syn1}
\end{subfigure}
~ %add desired spacing between images, e. g. ~, \quad, \qquad, \hfill etc.
%(or a blank line to force the subfigure onto a new line)
\begin{subfigure}[b]{0.45\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{images/synthetic_2.png}
\caption{Synthetic image, white on black.}
\label{fig:syn2}
\end{subfigure}
~ %add desired spacing between images, e. g. ~, \quad, \qquad, \hfill etc.
%(or a blank line to force the subfigure onto a new line)
\caption{Synthetic test images for edge detection algorithms. \subref{fig:syn1} shows various gray levels that require an adaptive algorithm. \subref{fig:syn2}
shows more challenging edge detection tests that have crossing lines. Fusing these into full segments typically requires algorithms like the Hough transform.
This is an example of using subfigures, with \texttt{subref}s in the caption.
}\label{fig:synthetic}
\end{figure}
\clearpage
\subsection{Equations}
Equations should be typeset correctly and precisely. Make sure you get parenthesis sizing correct, and punctuate equations correctly
(the comma is important and goes \textit{inside} the equation block). Explain any symbols used clearly if not defined earlier.
For example, we might define:
\begin{equation}
\hat{f}(\xi) = \frac{1}{2}\left[ \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} f(x) e^{2\pi i x \xi} \right],
\end{equation}
where $\hat{f}(\xi)$ is the Fourier transform of the time domain signal $f(x)$.
\subsection{Algorithms}
Algorithms can be set using \texttt{algorithm2e}, as in Algorithm \ref{alg:metropolis}.
% NOTE: line ends are denoted by \; in algorithm2e
\begin{algorithm}
\DontPrintSemicolon
\KwData{$f_X(x)$, a probability density function returing the density at $x$.\; $\sigma$ a standard deviation specifying the spread of the proposal distribution.\;
$x_0$, an initial starting condition.}
\KwResult{$s=[x_1, x_2, \dots, x_n]$, $n$ samples approximately drawn from a distribution with PDF $f_X(x)$.}
\Begin{
$s \longleftarrow []$\;
$p \longleftarrow f_X(x)$\;
$i \longleftarrow 0$\;
\While{$i < n$}
{
$x^\prime \longleftarrow \mathcal{N}(x, \sigma^2)$\;
$p^\prime \longleftarrow f_X(x^\prime)$\;
$a \longleftarrow \frac{p^\prime}{p}$\;
$r \longleftarrow U(0,1)$\;
\If{$r<a$}
{
$x \longleftarrow x^\prime$\;
$p \longleftarrow f_X(x)$\;
$i \longleftarrow i+1$\;
append $x$ to $s$\;
}
}
}
\caption{The Metropolis-Hastings MCMC algorithm for drawing samples from arbitrary probability distributions,
specialised for normal proposal distributions $q(x^\prime|x) = \mathcal{N}(x, \sigma^2)$. The symmetry of the normal distribution means the acceptance rule takes the simplified form.}\label{alg:metropolis}
\end{algorithm}
\subsection{Tables}
If you need to include tables, like Table \ref{tab:operators}, use a tool like https://www.tablesgenerator.com/ to generate the table as it is
extremely tedious otherwise.
\begin{table}[]
\caption{The standard table of operators in Python, along with their functional equivalents from the \texttt{operator} package. Note that table
captions go above the table, not below. Do not add additional rules/lines to tables. }\label{tab:operators}
%\tt
\rowcolors{2}{}{gray!3}
\begin{tabular}{@{}lll@{}}
%\toprule
\textbf{Operation} & \textbf{Syntax} & \textbf{Function} \\ %\midrule % optional rule for header
Addition & \texttt{a + b} & \texttt{add(a, b)} \\
Concatenation & \texttt{seq1 + seq2} & \texttt{concat(seq1, seq2)} \\
Containment Test & \texttt{obj in seq} & \texttt{contains(seq, obj)} \\
Division & \texttt{a / b} & \texttt{div(a, b) } \\
Division & \texttt{a / b} & \texttt{truediv(a, b) } \\
Division & \texttt{a // b} & \texttt{floordiv(a, b)} \\
Bitwise And & \texttt{a \& b} & \texttt{and\_(a, b)} \\
Bitwise Exclusive Or & \texttt{a \textasciicircum b} & \texttt{xor(a, b)} \\
Bitwise Inversion & \texttt{$\sim$a} & \texttt{invert(a)} \\
Bitwise Or & \texttt{a | b} & \texttt{or\_(a, b)} \\
Exponentiation & \texttt{a ** b} & \texttt{pow(a, b)} \\
Identity & \texttt{a is b} & \texttt{is\_(a, b)} \\
Identity & \texttt{a is not b} & \texttt{is\_not(a, b)} \\
Indexed Assignment & \texttt{obj{[}k{]} = v} & \texttt{setitem(obj, k, v)} \\
Indexed Deletion & \texttt{del obj{[}k{]}} & \texttt{delitem(obj, k)} \\
Indexing & \texttt{obj{[}k{]}} & \texttt{getitem(obj, k)} \\
Left Shift & \texttt{a \textless{}\textless b} & \texttt{lshift(a, b)} \\
Modulo & \texttt{a \% b} & \texttt{mod(a, b)} \\
Multiplication & \texttt{a * b} & \texttt{mul(a, b)} \\
Negation (Arithmetic) & \texttt{- a} & \texttt{neg(a)} \\
Negation (Logical) & \texttt{not a} & \texttt{not\_(a)} \\
Positive & \texttt{+ a} & \texttt{pos(a)} \\
Right Shift & \texttt{a \textgreater{}\textgreater b} & \texttt{rshift(a, b)} \\
Sequence Repetition & \texttt{seq * i} & \texttt{repeat(seq, i)} \\
Slice Assignment & \texttt{seq{[}i:j{]} = values} & \texttt{setitem(seq, slice(i, j), values)} \\
Slice Deletion & \texttt{del seq{[}i:j{]}} & \texttt{delitem(seq, slice(i, j))} \\
Slicing & \texttt{seq{[}i:j{]}} & \texttt{getitem(seq, slice(i, j))} \\
String Formatting & \texttt{s \% obj} & \texttt{mod(s, obj)} \\
Subtraction & \texttt{a - b} & \texttt{sub(a, b)} \\
Truth Test & \texttt{obj} & \texttt{truth(obj)} \\
Ordering & \texttt{a \textless b} & \texttt{lt(a, b)} \\
Ordering & \texttt{a \textless{}= b} & \texttt{le(a, b)} \\
% \bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\end{table}
\subsection{Code}
Avoid putting large blocks of code in the report (more than a page in one block, for example). Use syntax highlighting if possible, as in Listing \ref{lst:callahan}.
\begin{lstlisting}[language=python, float, caption={The algorithm for packing the $3\times 3$ outer-totalistic binary CA successor rule into a
$16\times 16\times 16\times 16$ 4 bit lookup table, running an equivalent, notionally 16-state $2\times 2$ CA.}, label=lst:callahan]
def create_callahan_table(rule="b3s23"):
"""Generate the lookup table for the cells."""
s_table = np.zeros((16, 16, 16, 16), dtype=np.uint8)
birth, survive = parse_rule(rule)
# generate all 16 bit strings
for iv in range(65536):
bv = [(iv >> z) & 1 for z in range(16)]
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p = bv
# compute next state of the inner 2x2
nw = apply_rule(f, a, b, c, e, g, i, j, k)
ne = apply_rule(g, b, c, d, f, h, j, k, l)
sw = apply_rule(j, e, f, g, i, k, m, n, o)
se = apply_rule(k, f, g, h, j, l, n, o, p)
# compute the index of this 4x4
nw_code = a | (b << 1) | (e << 2) | (f << 3)
ne_code = c | (d << 1) | (g << 2) | (h << 3)
sw_code = i | (j << 1) | (m << 2) | (n << 3)
se_code = k | (l << 1) | (o << 2) | (p << 3)
# compute the state for the 2x2
next_code = nw | (ne << 1) | (sw << 2) | (se << 3)
# get the 4x4 index, and write into the table
s_table[nw_code, ne_code, sw_code, se_code] = next_code
return s_table
\end{lstlisting}
%==================================================================================================================================
\chapter{Evaluation}
How good is your solution? How well did you solve the general problem, and what evidence do you have to support that?
\section{Guidance}
\begin{itemize}
\item
Ask specific questions that address the general problem.
\item
Answer them with precise evidence (graphs, numbers, statistical
analysis, qualitative analysis).
\item
Be fair and be scientific.
\item
The key thing is to show that you know how to evaluate your work, not
that your work is the most amazing product ever.
\end{itemize}
\section{Evidence}
Make sure you present your evidence well. Use appropriate visualisations,
reporting techniques and statistical analysis, as appropriate. The point is not
to dump all the data you have but to present an argument well supported by evidence gathered.
If you use numerical evidence, specify reasonable numbers of significant digits; don't state ``18.41141\% of users were successful'' if you only had 20 users. If you average \textit{anything}, present both a measure of central tendency (e.g. mean, median) \textit{and} a measure of spread (e.g. standard deviation, min/max, interquartile range).
You can use \texttt{siunitx} to define units, space numbers neatly, and set the precision for the whole LaTeX document.
% setup siunitx to have two decimal places
\sisetup{
round-mode = places,
round-precision = 2
}
For example, these numbers will appear with two decimal places: \num{3.141592}, \num{2.71828}, and this one will appear with reasonable spacing \num{1000000}.
If you use statistical procedures, make sure you understand the process you are using,
and that you check the required assumptions hold in your case.
If you visualise, follow the basic rules, as illustrated in Figure \ref{fig:boxplot}:
\begin{itemize}
\item Label everything correctly (axis, title, units).
\item Caption thoroughly.
\item Reference in text.
\item \textbf{Include appropriate display of uncertainty (e.g. error bars, Box plot)}
\item Minimize clutter.
\end{itemize}
See the file \texttt{guide\_to\_visualising.pdf} for further information and guidance.
\begin{figure}[htb]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{images/boxplot_finger_distance.pdf}
\caption{Average number of fingers detected by the touch sensor at different heights above the surface, averaged over all gestures. Dashed lines indicate
the true number of fingers present. The Box plots include bootstrapped uncertainty notches for the median. It is clear that the device is biased toward
undercounting fingers, particularly at higher $z$ distances.
}
% use the notation fig:name to cross reference a figure
\label{fig:boxplot}
\end{figure}
%==================================================================================================================================
\chapter{Conclusion}
Summarise the whole project for a lazy reader who didn't read the rest (e.g. a prize-awarding committee). This chapter should be short in most dissertations; maybe one to three pages.
\section{Guidance}
\begin{itemize}
\item
Summarise briefly and fairly.
\item
You should be addressing the general problem you introduced in the
Introduction.
\item
Include summary of concrete results (``the new compiler ran 2x
faster'')
\item
Indicate what future work could be done, but remember: \textbf{you
won't get credit for things you haven't done}.
\end{itemize}
\section{Summary}
Summarise what you did; answer the general questions you asked in the introduction. What did you achieve? Briefly describe what was built and summarise the evaluation results.
\section{Reflection}
Discuss what went well and what didn't and how you would do things differently if you did this project again.
\section{Future work}
Discuss what you would do if you could take this further -- where would the interesting directions to go next be? (e.g. you got another year to work on it, or you started a company to work on this, or you pursued a PhD on this topic)
%==================================================================================================================================
%
%
%==================================================================================================================================
% APPENDICES
\begin{appendices}
\chapter{Appendices}
Use separate appendix chapters for groups of ancillary material that support your dissertation.
Typical inclusions in the appendices are:
\begin{itemize}
\item
Copies of ethics approvals (you must include these if you needed to get them)
\item
Copies of questionnaires etc. used to gather data from subjects. Don't include
voluminous data logs; instead submit these electronically alongside your source code.
\item
Extensive tables or figures that are too bulky to fit in the main body of
the report, particularly ones that are repetitive and summarised in the body.
\item Outline of the source code (e.g. directory structure),
or other architecture documentation like class diagrams.
\item User manuals, and any guides to starting/running the software.
Your equivalent of \texttt{readme.md} should be included.
\end{itemize}
\textbf{Don't include your source code in the appendices}. It will be
submitted separately.
\end{appendices}
%==================================================================================================================================
% BIBLIOGRAPHY
% The bibliography style is agsm (Harvard)
% The bibliography always appears last, after the appendices.
\bibliographystyle{agsm}
% Force the bibliography not to be numbered
\renewcommand{\thechapter}{0}
\bibliography{l4proj}
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